I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
When Jesus said we would not get through this life without experiencing pain in a variety of different forms, He was not speaking metaphorically; He was making a declaration of fact. Yet inasmuch as we experience pain on our way into glory, we will not be marked by stain. C. S. Lewis expressed this biblical truth in this most profound way:
“God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.”
Lewis was confident that God has armed us to go through our trials and tribulations, but he did not say that God would steer us over, under, or around them. Rather, God takes us through difficulties in order to grow and mature us in our faith; in so doing, He is conforming us to the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus. As soon as we realize we are headed into one of life’s storms, our first prayer should not be, “Lord, please take this trial away,” but rather, “Lord, as You take me through this trial, thank You for making me more like Jesus!”
Many of you are familiar with the Genesis account of Jacob and his twelve sons; Joseph was favored by his father and hated by his brothers. Joseph’s brothers attacked him, thinking to kill him, but instead decided to sell Joseph into slavery. Joseph was taken down to Egypt, where he lived as a slave and a prisoner for 13 years. But God ordained a series of events so that Joseph would interpret Pharaoh’s dreams of seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, and Joseph was taken out of prison and elevated to the second position of authority in Egypt.
During the ensuing famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain, where they encountered their brother Joseph without realizing who he was. Eventually Joseph revealed himself to his flabbergasted brothers and uttered these life-changing words: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).
Joseph undoubtedly experienced a great deal of pain throughout those first thirteen years in Egypt, but his statement makes it clear that his pain was without stain. He saw God’s sovereign hand in everything that had happened, he knew that God is in complete control of all things, but Joseph also knew that there was purpose in his pain, and God’s purpose would not leave a stain of sorrow, anger, or bitterness.
May that truth set us all free to echo the apostle Paul and declare, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). God has promised us pain in this life; but He has also promised that, if we hold fast to His divine promises, He will bring us through that pain without the stain of sin. He will lead us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spread everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him (2 Corinthians 2:14). How glorious!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 